Pats nearly lose, still 11-0: What does it say when a close win (but still a win) is the NFL's lead story about the Patriots. "Hey: Someone only lost by 3!"

Does it signal the Pats can be beaten? It will allow for the discussion; that if a team like the Eagles can keep it dangerously close, that any of the AFC's eclipsed contenders (Colts, Steelers, Jags) or even the best of the NFC (Packers) could give them a go.

Don't believe the talk. It's 11 games into the greatest season in NFL history, so the Pats are forgiven if they have a lull defensively. (If "lull" means "winning again.") They can't win every game by blowout.

UPDATE: A heavy meme this morning is that the Eagles have somehow exposed a blueprint for beating them -- or at least created the glimmer of hope (for the rest of us) that the Pats can be beaten... if not during the regular season, then when it counts, in the playoffs. I'm just not buying it. Sure, they woulda/coulda/shoulda lost, but they didn't. Off night, bad matchup, looking ahead, mentally unprepared, Thanksgiving hangover...whatever. I see it as a mere blip.

(Does it count as a moral victory for the Eagles? As Philadelphia isn't going anywhere in the playoffs, and it's a bit of a lost season, then yes. Meanwhile: Gotta love a QB controversy between Feeley and McNabb.)

UPDATE: Per a report in PFT, Sean Taylor was reportedly shot by home-robbers and is apparently "fighting for his life." Tracking...

CFB: Missouri and West Virginia lead BCS heading into final week. It's pretty simple:

If Mizzou beats Oklahoma and West Virginia beats Pitt, they will play for the national title, and everyone except OhioState fans should be happy with that uncontroversial conclusion to the wildest season of all time. With those offenses, it will be one of the most entertaining title games in recent memory. (Chase Daniel and Pat White are two of the top 3 QBs in the country.)

If either stumble, idle OhioState will fill in the spot. As I noted yesterday, both won't lose. Mizzou might lose, but WVU just won't lose to Pitt in Morgantown with a trip to the national title on the line. (Yes, yes: I know I said roughly the same thing about LSU, but Pitt is not Arkansas.)

(It's worth noting: If BOTH Mizzou and WVU do lose -- I have known to be wrong about things like this...cough...LSU...cough -- the scrum over "Who's No. 2?" will be insane. Georgia is next in line, but isn't even playing for its conference title. Same with Kansas. How about the rest of the 2-Loss Crew: Oklahoma? LSU? USC? Virginia Tech? They all have fatal flaws. It would be ugly.)

More NFL: NFL Stud? Devin Hester (what a huge win for the Bears)...

NFL Dud: Eli Manning was awful (Pick-6... THREE times?!)...

Cards blow it: You don't know whether to laugh at or cry for Cardinals fans (where was Whisenhunt with a TO before that non-FG)...

MNF: All I want to see tonight is Ricky Williams have some sort of breakout game, either meaningful carries near the goal-line or some sort of unexpected long run. Meanwhile, all fans can hope for is to see the Dolphins continue their march for 0-16 "imperfection" as a bookend to the team's 1972 perfect season in the same season that the 1972 perfect season is eclipsed by another franchise.

More CFB: If you like to see non-BCS teams in the BCS bowls (I do, even if those teams aren't BCS-bowl-worthy), Hawaii is in, as long as they beat Washington; if they lose, they are unlikely to stay in the Top 12 to generate the automatic BCS invite.

(Wow, I wish the BCS would allow for more than 2 reps from any given league. I know it's about money distribution, but still. If Hawaii doesn't qualify and certain favorites win as expected, they're going to have to dig pretty deep to fill all at-large spots.)

In this week's BlogPoll, I've got Mizzou, WVU and OhioState at 1-2-3, with Kansas and Georgia at 4-5. Georgia is the highest-ranked 2-loss team, but without the chance to play in their conference title-game, they will have to be content with a BCS bowl at-large invite. (Effectively, UGA is last year's LSU: The nation's best 2-loss team doubling as a Top 3 finisher. If the Bulldogs get a high-profile bowl matchup and win convincingly, they could finish as high as No. 2.) Here's the BlogPoll ballot link.

Heisman Watch: Tim Tebow played most of the second half against FSU with a broken non-throwing hand; as it was the last game of the season, why not? Still: It might not matter if voters were swayed by Darren McFadden's performance against LSU. (I certainly was, and as big of a Tebow fan as I am, I can't possibly be upset if the award goes to McFadden.) Chase Daniel remains in the mix, particularly if he has a huge game in beating Oklahoma. Pat White deserves an invite to NYC for the ceremony, too, but only 3 players can go.

CFB Coaching: Mike Sherman to coach Texas A&M. I know he has Aggie coaching roots, but I'm not a fan of NFL coaches with no college head-coaching experience trying to run a major program in this day and age (see Bill Callahan and the newly open head-coaching job at Nebraska). College football coaching demands totally different skills than coaching in the NFL, and Sherman has been out of the college game for a decade. A lot has changed since then, as he will quickly find out.

As for Nebraska, sounds like Tom Osborne wants to talk to (and presumably hire) Turner Gill. That's nice and all, but wouldn't he like a coach who has a bit more on his resume than "beloved alum" and "University of Buffalo?"

MLB: A-Rod can earn up to $30 million (or more) in "historic moment" incentives as he passes major milestones in the career home run chase. It's an unprecedented deal, which MLB has approved, and will allow his deal to escalate to up to $305M as he passes Mays, Ruth, Aaron and eventually Bonds.

Hot Stove: Johan Mania. Santana will be THE story of the Winter Meetings that start next weekend. Presuming the Twins will trade him and that they can only trade him to the "big-money" clubs, the question is: Who will be willing to give up the most to get him? I predict he ends up with the Mets.

CBB: USC obliterated Southern Illinois, with only 13 points (and 7 shots) from OJ Mayo... Kansas edged Arizona, but Chase Budinger had a national-TV statement game (27 points)... Michael Beasley Watch: Held to only 13 and 10, but K-State got the W... This week: Big Ten/ACC Challenge, which usually turns out to barely qualify as one.

NBA: LeBron had a triple-double... I don't know who Jamario Moon is, but I like his box-score line (15 points, 7/12 FG, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks, 3 steals)... The Bulls are awful... It's weird to say, but I think Carlos Boozer is one of the Top 3 post players in the West, right there behind Duncan and Yao... As if you thought the dynastic Spurs could get any better, they are off to their best start after 14 games in franchise history.

As you'll notice, Comments remain closedmoderated as I work on a sustainable process to manage them. (Update: For a little while, I might be accepting comments via moderator approval, but that may not last -- and, even if it does, comments may not be posted for several hours.) Sorry for any inconvenience.

47 comments:

Was at the Giants game yesterday. Probably the worst game I ever attended. I never thought I would see a worse performer in that stadium after Dave Brown left. Wow, horrible. I may have finally given up on Eli.

Right now, I think the Heisman race should be:1. Dixon -- Oregon's inability to score without him further shows how great he is and how important he was to the #2 team (when he got hurt).2. McFadden -- When healthy, he was unstoppable. More importantly, in his biggest game of the year, he came up huge. He played almost half the snaps at QB, and completely changed the game. If he wasn't running it himself (or passing for a TD), he was being a distraction that let others around him score.3. Tebow -- his numbers are outstanding. He is the only reason UF isn't 7-5 or 6-6.

As an SEC hater, it's hard not to recognize that 2 of the top 3 players in the country come from the SEC.

As a Buckeye fan, I would have no issue with Mizzou vs. WVU for the BCS. Mizzou beat Illinois, which we couldn't do. WVU has the advantage of losing early with more time to rebound, but they won a tough conference (who would have thought anyone would describe the Big East as "tough"). Either of those teams would provide match-up problems for Ohio State (see UF/ UofI).

I said KU's run game would have the advantage in the cold weather, well if you fall behind by 21 it makes it hard to run. The way that Daniel was playing and KU's ability to (not) tackle, I don't know if it would have made a difference in the end, but KU had 4 drives deep into Missouri territory and got 0 points: 2 missed FGs, an interception on a ricochet, and the first interception where the ball was underthrown. That one would have been a TD as the Missouri defender was beat. That game was a lot closer than most people are saying, Missouri didn't "dominate". Their offense was unstoppable, but they weren't stopping KU's offense either.

Either way, KU went 11-1 and had a fantastic season. They may even get a BCS game as they sit at #5 right now. If OU beats Missouri (Go OU!) then its possible KU slides up to #4, which would guarantee them a BCS game.

Dan you forgot to mention that Nebraska will probably talk to Pelini as well. He is sort of a mythic figure at Nebraska, was D Coordinator for one year. Peterson thought Callahan would do a better job of not allowing Nebraska Football to become "mediocre". I guess Pedersen wanted to destroy one of the legendary football programs and he did an outstanding job of doing so.

I wonder how long it is going to take Osborne to make the decision. With Miles probably going to Michigan he may have to act fast to get Pelini because LSU is a better job than Nebraska right now. I would like to see them go after a young coach, similar to what Oklahoma did with Stoops.

What a great weekend for sports. I got to go see the gators destroy FSU. It was a somewhat boring game as we dominated form the getgo and didn't really let up. The bucs game was much more exciting. I swear the bucs had no business beig in that game. Sure they got 6 TO's but it was as if gradkowski was trying to let the foreskins get back into the game. I really am hoping that WVU and Mizzou win out so that they cvan play in the title game. I like the style of offense that WVU plays and with this year beig so muddled and there not beig a clear but #1 in the nation I figure they deserve a shot at the title. I also think by nature of their beig undefeated that Hawaii needs to be in the picture. I don't get why people dog their strength of schedule when it isn't really any worse that Boise state's last year and everyone loved them last year. You can't blame them for their schedule can you?

If Missouri wins, I have no problem with OSU playing in the Rose bowl. Heck they haven't played in it since Jim Tressel became the coach.

USC scares me to death right now. They looked unstoppable against Arizona state. It just goes to show you what injuries to key players can do to a season.

LSU has been overrated all season long. Looking down the list of their wins and losses VT is the only team really worth a darn on their schedule. VT and Florida are the only teams still ranked that LSU has played to date (tenn still to come). South carolina, Kentucky, Auburn, and Alabama have been proven as frauds.

I agree with your comments about Turner Gill and Nebraska. The same goes for Bo Pelini (not alum, but former coach and never a HC). Interviewing those two wreaks of nepotism.I am a Nebraska fan and sadly it seems many of my fellow fans and maybe Osborne just want to get back to "the way it was"... you know,tradition (=winning 10-12 games each year), which will never happen. The golden age of Cornhusker football from 93-97 will never been repeated, by any team. Even teams with vastly more resources than NU can't do that anymore. As badly as I want Nebraska to win year in and year out I know down seasons will come.Last of all, Nebraska is not a training school to learn how to coach. It is/was an established powerhouse and should treat itself as such and go after the big boys, even if they have to overpay. I don't see any other schools clamoring after Turner Gill or Bo Pelini. Go after someone like Tuberville, Richt, Petrino, or Zook. They may not be willing to leave their respective schools, but you gotta at least offer... and make it worth their while.

Oh yeah, please Bill Martin do not hire Les Miles! We have had enough coaches who can't win a big game! Tentatively holding out for Rich Rodriguez until he blows it next week...

And yes, Philly did show how to beat NE but there are few teams that have a physical AND quality-coverage secondary to go with those crazy blitzes. Seriously, how many teams could pull off sending 7 rushers seemingly every down and not get torched in the secondary?

KU sits at #5 right now, if they can finish in the top 4 they are guaranteed a BCS bowl. If Missouri wins they'll still probably get a BCS bowl. Then again they may not it. Here's my dilema: I'm cheering for OU this weekend (duh). But if Missouri wins, how can I root for them in the title game. I always want to see the Big XII do well, but don't think I can tolerate Missouri winning it all.

(and just a footnote, and I always seem to have to clear this up, its not jhawkJIM but jhawkJJM. No biggie, just when its underlined you can't tell. No appologies or anything necessary)

@cmfostIf both Mizzou and WV lose, it all would depend on what happens in the SEC championship. If LSU wins, they'll probably get the nod over Oklahoma. If LSU loses, it'll be Oklahoma. Since Georgia and Kansas have no chance of winning their conferences, they'll most likely be overlooked in the title game.

I can now see McFadden winning the Heisman seeing that he he's an upperclassmen and the voters are stuck in their ways. He did his best Tebow impression on Friday and beat LSU.

Did you watch the game, Dan? That's exactly the blueprint for how to beat the Patriots--they didn't win because of spectacular play, they won because of one boneheaded throw by a career backup.

They've become a finesse team that doesn't run the ball. To beat them, you pressure with a 3-man front and a variety of exotic LB blitzes, leaving an MLB to spy the screen or occasional run. Man up Moss/Stallworth/Welker, with permanent safety help over the top for whoever's guarding Moss. Done and done. The Tampa-2 is taylor-made to beat the Pats this year. The Indy-NE matchup in the playoffs is going to be very interesting.

Oh, and as people saw last night, the Pats are doing the reverse of the Super Bowl years: winning because of a great offense, not a dominating defense. They have the best defensive line in the league, but behind them, everyone other than Thomas and Samuel is old or slow or just plain unathletic.

That was not a blueprint on how to beat the patriots. The Eagles played the absolute best game they could and the Patriots played there worst game of the season. And robut, Brady kills tampa-2 teams.

In order to do what philly did against the patriots, 1st you need the players (big o line, one great cover corner with a good cover safety). 2nd you need to execute the game plan to perfection any mistakes and you can not beat the pats. 3rd - you need to find a way to shut down the pats offense which the philly really did not do.

The Pats scored on 4 of the 8 drives they had and should of been five of 8 if not for a missed FG and it is really 4 of 7 since the last drive they where just trying to kill the clock.

Nixon,The Pats defense ranks 3rd in yards per game and is tied for 5th in points per game.

In the end, this so-called blueprint resulted in another loss for the opposition and probably serves as a wake-up call for the Pats. And while all the blueprint people are talking about other teams employing the same strategy, don't you think Belichick and his staff are busy preparing for how to perform better against that kind of attack?

I don't know why you keep saying only three heisman finalists can be invited. Only have to go back to 2005 to find 5 finalists. (http://www.heisman.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120804aaa.html)I think they can invite as many legitimate contenders as they think they have.

Feely had a great game (aside from his second throw and the last 3+ minutes of course). All three of his TD passes were stuck in there perfectly with solid coverage each time. As far as a "blue print" for beating the Pats, I just don't see it. The Pats played a poor scheme on both sides of the ball all game, blitzing Feely too much (he proved he wasn't going to get rattled, despite throwing a pick 6 early) and playing that ridiculous spread the whole game when Maroney apparently was not hurt (he must be in the dog house or something). The Pats also left a lot of plays on the field; 1. A dropped bomb by Moss, which almost never happens.2. A ticky tack PA penalty on Moss, negating a TD, followed by a missed FG which replay seemed to show was good. 3. A dropped Int by Samuel which looked destine for another 6. 4. 3 dropped passes in a row during an early 4th quarter drive.

Mr. Nixon, The standard Tampa 2 doesn't work against the Pats because all three receivers have enough speed to split the safeties. Buffalo tried to play the Tampa 2 last week. The Eagles had success for three reasons. 1. The Pats didn't try to run (very stupid, because they CAN run). 2. The Eagles exotic blitzing schemes were reasonably effective. 3. The Eagles DBs did an excellent job (yet still gave up almost 400 yards passing). However, I did notice several borderline holds (lots of tugging on shirt sleeves) and illegal contacts (much bumping past 5 years).

Turner Gill is definitely a good candidate for the Nebraska job. Yes, he coaches University of Buffalo now but in his few years in Buffalo, he finally led the Bulls to a winning record in the conference. This is a team that never won more than 1-2 games a season for a few years. He has done the best he can with the kind of recruits Buffalo gets. at UB, academics >>>>>>>>>>>>> Sports, so I say he's done well.

I understand that Dixon being gone has shown how valuable he is to Oregon, but what do you think would happen if Daniels, McFadden, or Tebow went out. The argument that we know how valuable he his now so he must be the Heisman is one that absolutely slays me because there are probably a dozen players that have that status. It think instead the Ducks criminally poor play should reflect on what an awful job these coaches have done t preparing Leak when they have known for at least 3 weeks that Dixon had a bad knee. If I am an oregon fan I am amazed at the ineptitude of what I have seen in the last 7 quarters of football.

I don't know--count me among those who isn't sold on the idea of the Eagles providing a "blueprint" for how to stop the Pats. The fact is that New England still scored 31 points. 31! And yet there are people somehow pointing to this game as proof that the Pats offense can be stopped. Such is the universe Brady and Co. have created. The Eagles defense looked very busy, and I'll give them credit for actually, you know, touching Brady, which not a lot of teams can claim, but the fact is NE still racked up 410 yards of total offense and had no turnovers.

Now, I'll give Robut this: maybe the Eagles did provide a template for how to score on the Patriots. John Madden was right: Philadelphia's offense was destroying the Pats secondary on the in-cuts all night. And the protection for Feeley was top-notch. Have you ever seen so many third-and-long completions?

The Saskatchewan Roughriders won the CFL Grey Cup yesterday. Home to the best CFL fans in the country (think Packers fans in the NFL; small market and intensely loyal), but very little success (only 2 championships before last night, none for the last 19 years, in an 8 team league). They were led by Kerry Joseph, a former NFL safety who left to fulfill his dream of playing quarterback.

I thought some of you might be interested in this scenario someone broke down on his blog today as the ultimate punch in the mouth possibility for the BCS: BYU and Hawai'i both qualify for BCS and a free-for-all for the NC.

Although the Tennessee-Kentucky game was certainly exciting, what with quadruple overtime, etc., I was glad that CBS switched to the UF-FSU game in Florida at the time it started, even though UT-UK was nowhere near complete. There were plenty of updates on UT-UK while those of us in Florida got to watch Tebow and company put on a clinic! Aside from the overwhelming victory on the field, what I liked best about the UF-FSU game was that because of the aforementioned clinic, we didn't have to listen to the incessant Seminole warchant!! (Doesn't the FSU band play anything else??)

CMFost, it's funny how when its your team who almost gets beat, the other team suddenly played the best they possibly could and your team played the worst they possibly could.

Now in 2004 when the Red Sox beat the Yankees in 7, I bet you weren't saying "Oh, the Red Sox played about as well as they could and everything went their way and the Yankees played about as bad as they could".

Give credit where its due, it doesn't matter how good you think the Eagles played and how bad you think the Patriots played. The fact is, you were scared shitless and the Eagles preparation had a lot to do with the Patriots poor play. It wasn't some fluke bad game.

Jamario.....Mooooon! He was in the CBA with the Albany Patroons this time a year ago...he was fun as hell to watch and one of the best players in the league. Don't know how he wasn't found before this, though I can't imagine he's really anything close to this good at the NBA level.

Connect With Me

Quickish

About This Blog

DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.